Journal entry by Beth Dery —
Hi everyone,
I’m not sure where to begin as I don’t have many words right now but I promise to do my best. Since my mother was told she was in remission on October 4th, she continued to have complications, the scariest was septic shock in the two weeks surrounding Thanksgiving. She was in the ICU that entire time as they tried to fix infections, regulate blood pressure and heart rates, and keep her breathing. There were a total of 12 tubes in and out, and monitors on her 24/7. She was unaware of everything going on aside from what we have told her, and I am so grateful she doesn’t remember it.
She had an alright Christmas spent in the hospital and was in and out of rehab until she came home on January 4th for her longest stint yet.
She has been awaiting a surgery that would finally allow her to eat more than Jell-o and popsicles for months to help her regain some strength. Her last “meal” of real food (mashed potatoes) was August 6th. This surgery would be cutting out the damaged part of her GI tract that comes out of her stomach and they’d be removing a portion of about 18” to then reroute back up to the other side of her stomach. This surgery has been pushed off until she gains enough weight to “handle” the procedure and recovery.
Almost exactly one month since she came home, she went in for a PET scan to find out horrible news that there are now two new spots of cancer in her body. Yesterday, she had an appointment in Boston with an oncologist that her Maine doctor has been working with so she knew everything that was going on. They performed a CT scan and in her 6+ hour appointment from scan to consult, she received the news that they aren’t sure what to do next. Doctors aren’t sure if she can handle the obliteration of treatments as these will have to be stronger and more intense.
Right now, she/we are asking for prayers and a little time before people reach out while all of this information is absorbed and within the next week, her entire team of doctors hope to have some sort of answer for her. Please know we are all grateful for your support and love you all for it.
I’m not sure where to begin as I don’t have many words right now but I promise to do my best. Since my mother was told she was in remission on October 4th, she continued to have complications, the scariest was septic shock in the two weeks surrounding Thanksgiving. She was in the ICU that entire time as they tried to fix infections, regulate blood pressure and heart rates, and keep her breathing. There were a total of 12 tubes in and out, and monitors on her 24/7. She was unaware of everything going on aside from what we have told her, and I am so grateful she doesn’t remember it.
She had an alright Christmas spent in the hospital and was in and out of rehab until she came home on January 4th for her longest stint yet.
She has been awaiting a surgery that would finally allow her to eat more than Jell-o and popsicles for months to help her regain some strength. Her last “meal” of real food (mashed potatoes) was August 6th. This surgery would be cutting out the damaged part of her GI tract that comes out of her stomach and they’d be removing a portion of about 18” to then reroute back up to the other side of her stomach. This surgery has been pushed off until she gains enough weight to “handle” the procedure and recovery.
Almost exactly one month since she came home, she went in for a PET scan to find out horrible news that there are now two new spots of cancer in her body. Yesterday, she had an appointment in Boston with an oncologist that her Maine doctor has been working with so she knew everything that was going on. They performed a CT scan and in her 6+ hour appointment from scan to consult, she received the news that they aren’t sure what to do next. Doctors aren’t sure if she can handle the obliteration of treatments as these will have to be stronger and more intense.
Right now, she/we are asking for prayers and a little time before people reach out while all of this information is absorbed and within the next week, her entire team of doctors hope to have some sort of answer for her. Please know we are all grateful for your support and love you all for it.
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